Audeze LCD-X
Nov 7, 2013 at 9:09 PM Post #871 of 12,748
  There is no XC thread yet and this thread has been a defacto X and XC thread.  I know there has to be more people out there who've gotten their XCs by now.

 
Then maybe the OP should change the thread title, or someone who owns the XCs (which look amazing BTW) should start one?
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 9:15 PM Post #872 of 12,748
  There is no XC thread yet and this thread has been a defacto X and XC thread.  I know there has to be more people out there who've gotten their XCs by now.

 
This thread is an XC thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/631590/audeze-closed-back-prototypes-yeah-this-is-one-of-the-headphones-at-the-top-of-my-wish-list
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 9:18 PM Post #873 of 12,748
   
This thread is an XC thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/631590/audeze-closed-back-prototypes-yeah-this-is-one-of-the-headphones-at-the-top-of-my-wish-list

Shouldn't they be in the Summit-Fi section? Explains the confusion.
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 9:23 PM Post #874 of 12,748
It was a thread about the prototype made a year ago.  It's a bit different than this thread which was made after the fact.
 
Being in summit-fi or not depends if Currawong thinks the amps and dacs being used with it are in the thousands of dollars.
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 9:27 PM Post #875 of 12,748
Just listening to the XC for the first time.  Wow, Audeze fixed what I didn't particularly like about my LCD-3.  The treble is back!  Sound leakage is much less than the lcd-3 and is a welcome change for me.  The added treble does take away some of the lush feeling that the lcd-3 has for sure. Not as much creaminess (to dig up a old word :p ) as the LCD-3. These do sound more articulate than the LCD-3 in which there is a certain crispness that these headphones add. These are brighter than a HD-650 and LCD-3, they are NOT brighter than the HD-800.
 
Bass:
LCD-3 has more slam and slightly more depth.  A bit of a surprise considering these are closed, this is just a gut feeling. I am only 1/2 hour into these.  This is for memory, I will compare closer later.
 
Midrange
Again, not as much creaminess as LCD-3 but I think that's because these actually do have treble that is not rolled off.
 
HIgh
LCD-XC takes it here.  Much improved over the LCD-3
 
Soundstage
Wide but not HD-800 wide.  Close to the LCD-3 but not quite.
 
Imaging
Seems easier to get sucked into the LCD-3 and it makes you feel like there in person.  Some tracks allow the XC to do this but not as many.
 
-----------------------------------------
 
Overall if you want a brighter LCD-3 these are for you! These really do sound like a open headphone vs a closed one.  These are a good 90-95% of what the LCD-3 are and I would venture to say that some may even prefer these more if you do not like the treble roll off of the lcd-3.  Isolation is good. The bubinga looks good IMO, not jaw dropping but very nice.
 
Side note -- -These are for sure the heaviest I have ever felt.
 
 
More later tommorow
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 10:26 PM Post #877 of 12,748
  For me it's easy. If I decide to buy, Bubinga is the hardest of the 4 and looks the best to me. Also the finish looks like it is satin or at most semi-gloss, much more travel friendly than the most of the Thunderpants which were finished in ultra gloss.

 
That's a different perspective. If I was planning on doing some heavy traveling perhaps the strongest wood would be my top choice. The Bubinga is my least favorite of the four though. Iroko, Walnut, Purple Heart, Bubinga, in that order.
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 11:28 PM Post #878 of 12,748
After 20 hrs of usage LCD-x seems get better in
 
- soundstage: wider and more depth perception (but not at LCD3 level)
- detail of mid is better (closer to LCD3 mid's details)
- effortlessly: treble, mid and bass sound rich, clear, fast, great dynamic contrast (but still is not as effortlessly as PS1000). For LCD3 it never has this effortlessly feeling.
 
Love it !
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 8:41 AM Post #882 of 12,748
Hey guys,
 
Quick impressions that I posted on the "prototype LCD-XC" thread. Thought that my help some! Please ask me for specifics, with my work setup limitations in mind!
 
Just received my LCD-XC at my office in Paris! Fast shipping.
 
First impressions from a weak source (Spotify "high quality" (320 kbps Ogg Vorbis) on my work computer (Macbook Pro) and Fiio E17 DAC/AMP) vs. my LCD-3:
 
Bass is a little tighter, more controlled, more "enclosed". You can feel the reverb of the bass against the hard wood. Surprisingly, the soundstage is not too affected compared to LCD-3: yes, it's closer to you, but a far cry from traditional closed cans where you have a wall of sound against your ears.
 
The midrange is nicely textured, engaging, and natural. Again the source is below par and the Fiio sends a "digitalized" sound but you can easily feel the potential of the cans.
 
Highs are almost more detailed vs. my LCD-3 without becoming aggressive, the signature is less laid back, in a word it's less suave and more fun.
 
Also imaging is excellent, at the level of my SRH1840, which is an accomplishment for closed phones. All in all it's the Audeze house sound with a little bit more fun thrown in it.
 
Again these are very preliminary impressions, there has been virtually no burn-in and the source is far from being adequate. I'll try later tonight with my desktop setup (FLAC files -> Xonar Essence ST as DAC -> Burson Soloist) and will do some A/B-ing with the LCD-3.
 
The sound isolation is good, albeit not great. A low to medium listening levels nobody will hear you. I however like to listen with quite high volume levels and some frequencies can be heard (high midrange notably). This is in a dead silent room where the next coworker sits at less than 1m from me. So it's not IEM-level but still an amazing achievement for full-size cans. Of course, when musing is playing at a decent volume level you can't hear a thing from outside.
 
Fit is amazing, these seem more comfortable than the LCD-3, that I already found pretty good in that department (contrarily to some people, as I reckon).
 
I can't wait to see what these babies can do when properly driven, but it's already a very, VERY enjoyable experience. Obviously Audeze did it again.
 
Oh and of course, these babies are drop dead gorgeous (got the Bubinga wood with black leather. Smoking)
 
Cheers
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 9:34 AM Post #883 of 12,748
  My review is online! Hope you will find it helpful.

Dano,
that's a very good review....it seems to be a game of inches (or fractions thereof) between the 3 and the X. I was hoping to see a bit of a compare with the 2 but it does not matter. I was listening to my 2.2 when I was reading your review and man, that's the fun headphone from Audez'e. I next used the 3 and it takes the same song (Wine from Water by the Alan Parsons Project) to a more refined level all round.
 
Well, its helpful in that I now want the X to own the entire stable. I guess I'm now an official Audez'e fanboy 
very_evil_smiley.gif
 
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 9:36 AM Post #884 of 12,748
I'm starting to really get excited...
 
Thanks to all who are posting impressions...both these new offerings sound like home runs...very exciting time for Audeze!
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 9:37 AM Post #885 of 12,748
  Dano,
that's a very good review....it seems to be a game of inches (or fractions thereof) between the 3 and the X. I was hoping to see a bit of a compare with the 2 but it does not matter. I was listening to my 2.2 when I was reading your review and man, that's the fun headphone from Audez'e. I next used the 3 and it takes the same song (Wine from Water by the Alan Parsons Project) to a more refined level all round.
 
Well, its helpful in that I now want the X to own the entire stable. I guess I'm now an official Audez'e fanboy 
very_evil_smiley.gif
 

Did you get your XCs.
Mine are shipping next week 
frown.gif

 

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